Sibster racer becomes Scottish champion

GORDON Murray said becoming a national motor racing champion has realised a dream he has had

The Sibster racer is basking in the glory of clinching the Scottish Senior Post Classic Championship in only his fourth season of racing.

He secured the title last weekend during the final round of races at the East Fortune track in East Lothian. It was a sweet moment for the 43-year-old, whose strong title bid last year was ended by a bad accident.

“It is a really good feeling to be champion as it was a tight class of racers,” he said.

“There were some high-profile names and in the majority of races I won, there was barely a second between first and third.

“I had a close call last year when I missed out on the championship by 15 points when I wrecked the bike and couldn’t compete in two races.

“There was a lot hard work which went into this season and it is great to

win the title.”

Murray rode a Honda VFR which was one of the lowest horsepower entries in

his class which is for 601-1300cc bikes registered before 1988.

He won nine and was second five times in the 16 races on his way to the

title with the support of his Lucky Nine team

Despite a lifelong obsession with bikes, the offshore worker is a relative newcomer on the racing circuit.

“I only started racing when I was 40 and this is just my fourth full season racing.

“I never had an interest in driving cars – it was always motorbikes I wanted to ride.

“One year my wife Karen asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I said I wanted my race

licence.

“When I passed my test, I was on the qualifying track an hour later for a race.

“The first season was a massive learning experience as I had never been on a

track before.

“It is not overly expensive to compete but you do require money. It costs £120 in diesel to take part in a race with the £200 entry fee on top of running costs

with tyres being the biggest expense.”

“It has been great to progress from scratch with no experience to winning the national championship within four years.”

Murray is now preparing to take part in the Endurance Legends 4-Hour

Classic Motorcycle Endurance Race and the Classic World Superbikes at Spa in Belgium.

He is also looking to defend his title with a new 1986 TXR 1100 Suzuki which

he is now developing at home and is looking for sponsorship to compete

next season.

He has also been approached by a team to compete in the Pro Injection 1200 championships.